Why Fox Don’t Like The Script For Chronicle 2

John Landis is nothing if not straight-up. There’s no surprises that, when in full conversational flow, he starts spilling the sort of interesting anecdotes, insights and snippets of behind-the-scenes power play that other, more political filmmakers might tend to shy away from.

Attending an AMPAS screening of his fried-gold classic An American Werewolf in London, Landis was happy to spill not only his own business, but that of his son, Chronicle screenwriter Max.

He wrote a sequel [to Chronicle], and it’s amazing, and the studio read it and said, ‘We want Chronicle again!’ And he said, ‘No, this is the sequel, it’s the evolution, and they said ‘No, we want that movie again!’ So it’s difficult, we’re dealing with a difficult business.

But what do we want, we the punters? We would rather the evolution than a loop-the-loop, repeat revolution, of course. I mean, the box office for The Hangover 2 socks that notion on the nose, but forget that. I’m a paying member of the audience, and I’d buy a ticket for Landis’ spin on Chronicle 2 right now if you’d let me.

Dad really may have done Landis Jr. a favour by giving fans a chance to rally round and bang our tin mugs in demand for something fresh. The Chronicle films don’t have to be too expensive, so a good swell of online support for a more daring, various sequel could be enough to nudge Fox just so much that they could notice.